Believe it or not, Brazil has a huge Oktoberfest celebration every year in October, modeled after the German version. It takes place in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, which was originally settled by German immigrants. Brazilian Oktoberfest is the largest German festival outside of Germany, as well as the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. 

Brazilian Oktoberfest began in 1984, after the city of Blumenau suffered a terrible flood. The festival was used as a fundraiser to help victims and rebuild the city, and was a huge success. It was so successful, in fact, that the German government began to help sponsor the event.

This year, Oktoberfest began on October 9th and runs through October 26th. Organizers are expecting 750,000 people this year. Aside from beer consumption, the festival also features the “queens of Oktoberfest,” local women elected to reign over the celebration, contests, parades, German food, and traditional German music and dance. In fact, traditional bands from Germany fly to Blumenau just for the festival.

The celebration is held in the Parque Vila Germanica, which looks like a real German village. Tickets this year are R$5 Sunday through Thursday and R$10 Friday and Saturday. You can get in for free if you show up wearing a traditional German outfit! A beer of 400mL will cost R$3.75. Since the dry law went into effect throughout Brazil, this year the festival organizers are offering free van transportation from the event.

For more information, see the official site and the Globo coverage.